ion of most
men, but above his rank, which may be compared--to follow the military
analogies familiar to you--to that of a general of division or
major-general, is that of the chiefs of the ten great departments, or
groups of allied trades. The chiefs of these ten grand divisions of
the industrial army may be compared to your commanders of army corps,
or lieutenant-generals, each having from a dozen to a score of
generals of separate guilds reporting to him. Above these ten great
officers, who form his council, is the general-in-chief, who is the
President of the United States.

"The general-in-chief of the industrial army must have passed through
all the grades below him, from the common laborers up. Let us see how
he rises. As I have told you, it is simply by the excellence of his
record as a worker that one rises through the grades of the privates
and becomes a candidate for a lieutenancy. Through the lieutenancies
he rises to the colonelcy, or superintendent's position, by
appointment from above, strictly limited to the candidates of the best
records. The general of the guild appoints to the ranks under him, but
he himself is not appointed, but chosen by suffrage."

"By suffrage!" I exclaimed. "Is not that ruinous to the discipline of
the guild, by tempting the candidates to intrigue for the support of
the workers under them?"

"So it would be, no doubt," replied Dr. Leete, "if the workers had any
suffrage to exercise, or anything to say about the choice. But they
have nothing. Just here comes in a peculiarity of our system. The
general of the guild is chosen from among the superintendents by vote
of the honorary members of the guild, that is, of those who have
served their time in the guild and received their discharge. As you
know, at the age of forty-five we are mustered out of the army of
industry, and have the residue of life for the pursuit of our own
improvement or recreation. Of course, however, the associations of our
active lifetime retain a powerful hold on us. The companionships we
formed then remain our companionships till the end of life. We always
continue honorary members of our former guilds, and retain the keenest
and most jealous interest in their welfare and repute in the hands of
the following generation. In the clubs maintained by the honorary
members of the several guilds, in which we meet socially, there are no
topics of conversation so common as those which relate to these
matters, and t